1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mechanism for attachment to a robot head to enable the robot to pick up or manipulate articles such as electronic components and place them in specific locations such as on a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The above mentioned application discloses a head for attachment to a robot for picking up articles supplied by a feeder mechanism, and moving those articles to precise locations for incorporation in other devices. Specifically, one of the main uses for such mechanisms is to pick up electronic components and insert them into preselected locations during assembly of a printed circuit board.
Such devices muxst be able to pick up articles that are small and delicate and move those articles to predetermined locations within fractions of millimeters in accuracy. Additionally, such mechanisms must be capable of handling more than one type of component and, in order to save time, should be able to handle several different components at once such that each mechanism can be shifted into an operative position for picking up a component and when not in use, be shifted out of the way to make room for another mechanism to function. Further, the mechanism must be made to work in conjunction with the capabilities of the robot and make use of all of the robotic functions available.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved mechanism for attachment to a robot for transporting, placing and manipulating articles.